* Guiness World Record holder for Longest Career as a Flight Attendant passed away at 88
By Marlon Dale Ferreira
Many flight attendants who have dedicated their lives to this job would deeply appreciate the extraordinary service Bette Nash provided in the sky. Bette Nash, who embarked on her journey as a flight attendant in 1957, holds the Guinness World Record for the “Longest Career as a Flight Attendant,” with an impressive 64 years of service.
A legendary and record-setting flight attendant has left us.
Bette Nash, who began her aviation career in 1957 and was officially recognized by the Guinness World Record for her unmatched tenure as the longest-serving flight attendant after 60 years, passed away at 88.
Her remarkable career in aviation spanned decades, initially with Eastern Airlines, which later became American Airlines. Nash passed away on May 17 after a battle with breast cancer, according to ABC News.
“We mourn the passing of Bette Nash, who spent nearly seven decades warmly caring for our customers in the air,” American Airlines shared in a heartfelt post on X. “Bette inspired generations of flight attendants. Fly high, Bette.”
Nash’s official Guinness World Record stands for the “Longest Career as a Flight Attendant” with a duration of 64 years and 61 days, achieved on January 18, 2021, in Arlington, VA.
Reflecting on her remarkable journey, Nash once said in a 2022 ABC News segment, “I’m the luckiest person in the world.”
The iconic flight attendant recounted to CNN in 2016 how her dream took flight when she was a teenager. “I wanted to be a flight attendant from the time I got on the first airplane – I was 16 years old, I was sitting with my mother on a green leather couch at Washington, and this crew came up from TWA,” she recalled. “The pilot and the flight attendant walked across the hall and I thought ‘Oh my God,’ and I said that was for me.”
Bette Nash’s legacy of kindness, dedication, and passion for the skies will continue to inspire and be cherished by those who knew her and the countless passengers whose lives she touched.